Christian Bale’s weight gain for American Hustle is, well, impressive. The actor showed up in the flick’s latest trailer with a beard, mustache, shaggy hair, and a beer belly. That’s right, Batman isn’t fit anymore (at least right now).
But we can’t say we’re surprised Bale went all out for the role of con-artist Irving Rosenfeld, considering the actor has changed his body to suit his role several times.
Bale also bulked up for his role in The Dark Knight Rises , though that was more muscle and less beer belly. The reverse is also true. The Daily Mail reports that the actor previously lost a massive amount of weight for his roles in The Machinist and Rescue Dawn .
He also lost weight for the 2010 film The Fighter , where Christian Bale played crack addict Dicky Eklund. When discussing his role as Eklund, as well as the criticism that came from his weight loss for the role, Bale stated:
“To be honest, I find it laughable that it’s considered to be some f*cking gimmick — it’s so patronizing. For God’s sake, do people not understand what a pain it is to do?… It’s not easy, it’s not fun — it’s horrible.”
While his role in The Fighter was definitely notable, Bale’s weight loss was best shown in The Machinist , when he dropped 70 pounds to play the emaciated , troubled lead, notes Us Weekly . In 2010, the actor spoke about his drastic weight changes for movie roles, saying:
“Believe me, I don’t go looking for these things. If it does happen, it’s like, ‘Oh damn, I have to do that again,’ because I just tend to fall for the movie, the character, and then I’ll realize, ‘Oh man, I gotta do that.”
While Christian Bale showed off his weight loss in the new trailer for American Hustle, Jennifer Lawrence, who plays Bale’s wife in the film, also delved into a few bad habits. The actress, who is known for her role as Katniss in The Hunger Games , was seen smoking and cussing in several scenes.
American Hustle hits theaters on December 13.
[Image via s_bukley / Shutterstock.com ]